A Second Chance
by meggyandsophbff
Summary: Merlin is approached in a dream and given something great: a second chance at saving Arthur's life. Will Merlin succeed this time? Takes place between Morgana declaring war and the battle of Camlann. Rated T because there may be some mild violence in some upcoming chapters. *Based off a dream I had- this is a retelling of the finale.*


Today was just a typical day for Merlin. Arthur had bossed him around all day and he was fed-up. Every two seconds it was do-this-Merlin, do-that-Merlin, don't-forget-this-Merlin. _Just wait_ Merlin thought. One day everything would be different. One day Arthur would know of the power that Merlin yields. One day. This thought was the thought that kept Merlin from basically destroying Arthur (true Arthur was Merlin's best friend, but Arthur could be such a clothole) most days. There'd exist a day where he and Arthur could coexist happily, even with all of Merlin's secrets on the table. A day where Merlin would get to sit at the Roundtable- right next to Arthur- and make crucial war decisions. But that day was not today, nor tomorrow. That day would never come.

It'd been a long day and all Merlin wanted to do was sleep. Merlin tried the door, but it was locked. Before using magic on it, he peeked through the crack to see if anyone was there. To his dismay, there were people in there. Gaius was in there treating patients- who looked to be in critical condition. The patients were covered head to toe in large, red boils. There was no way Merlin was going to be able to get in tonight. He let out a huge sigh. Merlin decided to walk the corridors, hoping that he'd catch someone willing to lend him access to a bed. Now, Merlin would find somewhere on the ground to sleep, but he feared it'd be unsafe. After all, Morgana had just declared war on Camelot.

Just his luck, Merlin happened to quite literally bump into Gwaine. Merlin had been being careless and clear ran into him. Gwaine brushed himself off and gave a small chuckle. Merlin was displeased; he hated being viewed as Camelot's "fool." Why was he the fool? All he's ever done is save lives, many of those lives belonging to royalty. In Merlin's mind, if any one deserved to be the fool, it was Arthur.

"Are you all right, Merlin?" Gwaine asked with a concerned look in his eye. All jokes set aside, Gwaine was Merlin's friend and cared deeply about him.

"Um, yeah I'm fine. Just tired. Long day of running around for Arthur," Merlin replied.

"I know just the thing," Gwaine said as he walked off. Merlin had to put a little run into his step to catch up with Gwaine as they began to leave the castle.

"Are you at least going to tell me where we are going?" Merlin asked with a mixture of impatience and frustration in his voice. Merlin did not enjoy secrets, especially the enormous one that consumed his every thought.

"We're going to the tavern!" Gwaine exclaimed with glee.

Merlin paused. "The tavern? Nooo." Although everyone around Camelot was convinced- thanks to Gaius- that he loved the tavern, he actually didn't care too much for it. Besides, Merlin was dead tired and in need of sleep.

"Do you have anywhere better to be?" Come to think of it, he didn't. He had nowhere to go. Merlin was now about to be stuck with Gwaine for the night- in the tavern.

Upon entering the tavern, Merlin saw that Arthur and the rest of the knights were there. They all appeared to be gambling. This was not the first time this had occurred. Arthur and the knights would come to the tavern maybe once or twice a week to do so. Occasionally Merlin'd have to come to run some silly errand for Arthur and they'd be down here drinking and playing away. And Merlin would on occasion cheat them out of a gold coin or two- it's not like any of them were short on any money. Merlin glanced over at the royal prat and let out a heavy sigh. The last person he wanted to see was Arthur. He'd just spent a god-awful day doing Arthur's work.

"Come on Merlin, it'll be fun," Gwaine said as he pat Merlin on the back. Merlin stayed for a little bit and did not enjoy himself much. However, Merlin did jump into the gambling a time or two. Just one quick flash of those golden eyes did the trick. Arthur was forced to begrudgingly hand over his coins to Merlin in defeat.

Soon as he had enough, Merlin began to leave. Before exiting, Arthur stopped him and said, "Merlin, you seem tense today. Take care, okay?" Arthur's voice conveyed a soft tone of care and concern. These were the moments that Merlin stuck around for. Moments when his frustration towards Arthur faded and the kindness in Arthur's heart shone bright. Once everything was out, Merlin believed, all moments could be moments like this. The bad parts would vanish.

Merlin nodded towards Arthur and went back home. Gaius had finished treating the patients and the door was unlocked. Gaius looked to be in bed and asleep. Merlin tiptoed past Gaius in the hopes of not waking him. Merlin was successful in his feat. After entering his room, he put on his nightshirt and slipped into bed. He figured the sun would be up soon. Tomorrow would for sure be another busy day. No doubt he'd have added chores. Arthur was to be busy in war meetings all day. As Merlin shut his eyes, he drifted into a deep sleep. Merlin entered the world of dreams and there was something dreadful awaiting him: the worst nightmare he'd ever have.


End file.
